What happens when your residency program suddenly shuts down mid-training?

In this episode of Surgeon, Interrupted, Frances Mei sits down with internal medicine physician Dr. Julia Torrellas to discuss one of the most destabilizing experiences a trainee can face: the closure of a residency program during training.

Julia shares what it was like to learn that her hospital was shutting down, how residents were absorbed into a new program, and the emotional fallout of losing mentors, support systems, routines, and a sense of stability overnight. The conversation explores burnout, identity, self-sacrifice, boundaries, and what happens when medicine becomes your entire sense of self.

Topics include:

• What it feels like when a residency program closes

• Starting over in a new hospital as a senior resident

• Burnout and emotional exhaustion in training

• Why many physicians tie their identity to their career

• Self-abandonment and self-sacrifice in medicine

• Setting boundaries without sabotaging your career

• Navigating residency politics and power dynamics

• Finding agency during uncertainty and disruption

• Lessons learned from career setbacks and unexpected change

Whether you're a medical student, resident, attending physician, or someone navigating a major life transition, this conversation offers a thoughtful look at resilience, identity, and rebuilding after disruption.

Host: Frances Mei Hardin, MD

Guest: Julia Torrellas, MD

Connect with Julia: @drjuliatorrellas

Presented by: The Hippocratic Collective

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